So sorry for the long wait. I just moved to a different country, found out two of my grandparents have cancer, and am doing NaNoWriMo in between commuting around five hours a day. The story is still going - it's just slow. This is the last chapter I had already written up, so it may be awhile still before another comes out. Sorry for that. And thanks to everyone who's stuck with me thus far!
Chapter 22: The Poison Sky
There was a shower of glass and Freya felt somewhat fresh air trickle into her lungs. She inhaled deeply, eyes opening wide.
Standing there, in front of the car, was Donna's mother.
And she was holding an axe. Freya coughed in disbelief at the sight.
"Well, don't just stand there. Get her out," she ordered, slinging the axe over her shoulder before marching into the house.
For a moment, nobody moved. Everyone stared in shock after Sylvia as she opened the door and placed the axe behind it.
Then everyone snapped into movement. The Doctor reached his hand into the car, and Freya grasped it as tightly as she could. Ianto hurried around the car and reached in as well. Between the two of them, they tugged Freya carefully out of the car. By the time Freya was out, Donna had begun fussing at all the cuts Freya had received.
"This one is going to scar," she complained as they led Freya inside.
"I saved her life. A little less complaining would be nice. I didn't see anyone else doing anything," Sylvia said with a sniff.
"Thank you," Freya told her.
"I can't believe you've got an axe," Donna said simply, staring at her mother.
"Burglars."
As if that was all Donna's mother had to say for it to make sense.
Maybe it was. Freya hadn't lived in a city before.
"Get inside the house. Just try and close off the doors and windows," the Doctor ordered as a black cab drove up. The window rolled down and man leaned out the window.
"Doctor! This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS," the man said.
"Donna, you coming?" the Doctor asked. Donna nodded, stepping towards him.
"Yeah," Donna agreed, but her mother didn't look as pleased.
"Donna, don't go. Look what happens every time that Doctor appears. Stay with us, please," she begged.
Freya couldn't blame her. The Doctor did tend to leave a mess in his wake. And the fact that he never stuck around for explanations or to help clean up didn't help his case any.
"You go, my darling!" Wilf encouraged Donna.
"Dad!" Sylvia protested.
"Don't listen to her! You go with the Doctor. That's my girl," Wilf encouraged with a warm smile.
Donna climbed into the cab after the Doctor.
"Freya and I'll ride in the back," Ianto supplied, only for the Doctor to climb back out of the car.
"No. Freya and I will ride in the back. You two, in the front," the Doctor ordered.
It was odd, Freya decided, as she settled into the back of the cab with the Doctor. His arm was draped across her shoulders, as if nothing had ever changed. Yet it had. So much had changed between them. And he wasn't doing any good, pretending it hadn't.
"Why don't we get along anymore?" the Doctor asked her.
"I don't know," Freya said with a shrug.
"You're not helping when you refuse to talk about it, you know. You're as much to blame as I am," the Doctor pointed out.
"Am I? Because you're constantly leaving me behind, accusing me of changing, and chasing after other women when we're married," Freya pointed out.
"And you've constantly got all these other men after you. It works both ways," the Doctor shot right back.
"Maybe we're just not right for each other," Freya supplied.
"Not right for each other? Are you telling me you want a divorce?" the Doctor asked bitingly, hurt in his eyes.
"No. I just think this version of you and I are not all that compatible," Freya amended.
"Compatible? I regenerated into this version for you, to save your life, if you remember correctly," the Doctor said bitterly.
"Well then, maybe the next time you won't have that hanging over your head and we'll be able to get along better," Freya informed him.
"Is it the other companions? Do you want me stop taking other companions?" the Doctor asked her.
"No. I like companions. It would be terrible if it was just you and me on the TARDIS alone," Freya said with a shudder.
"Then what should we do?" the Doctor demanded.
"Well, you tried dropping me off," Freya pointed out, feeling anger leak into her words.
"Yeah. I tried. And immediately had to send someone to get you because I needed you again. I need you, believe it or not," the Doctor admitted.
"Believe it or not? And you wonder why we aren't getting along," Freya said angrily.
"Look, can we just get along long enough to figure this out?" the Doctor finally asked.
"You're the one who brought it up, not me. You're the one who wanted to talk about this," Freya pointed out.
"I did. And I don't want to anymore," the Doctor said.
The two of them sat there in silence as the cab drove through London, past hundreds of cars spewing that horrid gas.
"Who's doing this?" Freya finally asked him.
"Sontarans. I'm still trying to figure out why," the Doctor answered.
"Who are sontarans? What do they look like? How are they, as a race?" Freya demanded.
"They look like potatoes with arms and legs in a spacesuit. They're rather grouchy. All they care about is fighting and dying for their glory," the Doctor said.
"Hard to reason with a group like that," Freya observed.
"They can be rather obstinate," the Doctor agreed.
"Do we have a plan so far?"
"I need more information before I can come up with a plan," the Doctor disagreed.
"So what do I need to do? Just keep Ianto and Donna out of the way?" Freya asked.
"I don't know yet. Preferably, yes, keep them out of the way, but they're smart. And they can help. So long as they don't get themselves killed," the Doctor pointed out.
"That is always a difficulty, being around you. If you weren't so hard to kill, maybe the rest of us would live longer," Freya suggested.
"Yeah. Maybe. But there's no way of knowing that," the Doctor brushed her off. He glanced at the scenery.
"We're almost there. To the factory, where this all began," the Doctor told her, sitting up quickly. The black cab parked and the Doctor leapt out without a second thought. It took Freya few minutes to climb out, but by the time Ianto and Donna were waiting for her, as well as the man who'd drove them there.
"Ross, look after yourself. Get inside the building," the Doctor ordered the man.
"Will do. Greyhound Forty to Trap One. I have just returned the Doctor to base safe and sound. Over," the man said into his walkie-talkie before jogging towards the building.
Donna coughed as they started walking towards the building.
"The air is disgusting," she complained.
"It's not so bad for me," the Doctor said. He led them to the TARDIS, stopping in front of it.
Contemplating something.
"Go on, then, get inside the TARDIS," the Doctor told Donna. Only to frown.
"Oh! I've never given you a key. Here. Keep that. Go on, that's yours. Quite a big moment really," the Doctor told Donna as he gave her the key. Donna took it and coughed once more, unimpressed.
"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death," Donna suggested. The Doctor tugged on his ear, a frown forming on his lips.
"Good idea," the Doctor said with a nod.
"What about us?" Freya asked.
"You'll all go with Donna?" the Doctor asked.
"I don't think so, sir. We decided that, splitting up, one of us should be with each of you at all times," Ianto said simply. Donna nodded in agreement.
"What? Really? Why?" the Doctor asked in disbelief.
"Because you could walk off a cliff and wouldn't notice, Space Man," Donna pointed out, grinning slightly as she did.
"I…I would too notice," the Doctor protested.
"If it's anything, I'll go with you. Freya can stay with Donna," Ianto said, his tone firm and leaving no room for questions.
"I…blimey, fine," the Doctor said with a sigh.
"So where are the two of you going to go then?" Donna asked.
"To stop a war," the Doctor told Donna with a lopsided grin before he took off at a jog. Ianto sighed but jogged after him, leaving Donna to use her new key to open the TARDIS. Freya followed her in, shooting one last glance at her husband and Ianto, running into what she was certain was a battle.
"What are we supposed to do on here?" Donna complained as Freya shut the door. Freya shrugged.
"We could play a board game? Or we could hack security cams and figure out what's going on out there," Freya suggested.
"Outside the TARDIS?" Donna asked eagerly.
"Or even inside the factory. I'm sure we could manage it. The TARDIS loves me. Mainly because I don't hit her console with a hammer," Freya said drily.
"He does that?" Donna gasped.
"He does," Freya affirmed. She started moving around the console, clearing her mind. There, just in the back of her mind, she could hear the TARDIS. Hear her humming, her laughter. Hear her.
"Right. Flip that lever there, Donna," Freya ordered as she reached for her own switch, moving the screen in front of them. It flickered to life, revealing two men standing outside in UNIT uniforms.
"What are they doing?" Donna asked, staring at them.
And then they shimmered out of existence, along with the rest of the outside.
"We're not taking off, are we?" Donna asked uneasily.
"No. We're not. I'd say we're being transported," Freya supplied.
"Transported where?" Donna barked.
"Sontaran ship, maybe? Or maybe UNIT doesn't like the Doctor as much as he thinks they do. We'll have to wait and see. Watch the screen a moment," Freya ordered her. She moved towards the door, cracking it open.
Spaceship. Definitely. But she didn't see anyone in the immediate area. She closed the door firmly once more.
And heard the Doctor's voice.
"This is the Doctor," his voice said. Freya moved away from the door, towards the screen.
"Doctor, we're here! Can you hear me?" Donna shouted at the screen.
"I doubt it," Freya murmured. The Doctor silent for a moment.
As if he was listening to someone else.
"We're only getting part of the video," Freya murmured, flipping a few switches. The screen divided into two, showing the Doctor in one and a…potato? Sontaran.
"My God, they're like trolls," a man behind the Doctor said loudly.
"Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks. So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards," the Doctor directed his attention back to the screen, towards the Sontaran.
"How dare you!" the Sontaran shouted.
"Oh, that's diplomacy?" the man behind the Doctor shot back at the Doctor.
"Doctor, you impugn my honor!" the Sontaran shouted once more.
"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say belittle, because then I'd have a field day. But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it," the Doctor pointed out, "Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor? Or are you lot planning something else, because this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"
The sontaran on the screen looked rather amused. If a potato could look amused.
"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces," the Sontaran said with almost a smirk.
"Ah. The war's not going so well then. Losing, are we?" the Doctor asked.
"Such a suggestion is impossible!" the Sontaran protested angrily.
"Dear lord, those things are impossible to reason with," Donna murmured.
"Yeah, I gathered," Freya agreed.
"What war?" the man behind the Doctor asked.
"The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. It's been raging, far out in the stars, for fifty thousand years. Fifty thousand years of bloodshed, and for what?" the Doctor asked angrily.
"For VICTORY! Sontar-Ha!" the Sontarans started chanting.
The Doctor just settled in his chair and rolled his eyes, not even paying attention to them on the screen.
"He's going to piss them all off, ignoring them like that," Freya predicted.
"I'd be mad too," Donna agreed. And sure enough, a few minutes later, the Sontarans looked furious.
"Finished?" the Doctor asked innocently.
"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize. Behold. We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS," the Sontaran boasted.
"So the Sontarans have us," Freya decided.
"Well, as prizes go, that's…noble," the Doctor said. Donna's head shot up at his words.
"What?" Donna asked.
"As they say in Latin, Donna nobis pacem," the Doctor continued.
"That's me! I'm here! We're here!" Donna shouted once more at the screen,
"He can't hear us," Freya reminded the red-head.
"Did you ever wonder about its design? It's a phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like, if only we could communicate, you and I," the Doctor said, gesturing between himself and the camera.
"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor," the Sontaran boasted.
"Oh my God," Donna said, picking up a phone that was lying on the console.
"Who's phone is that?" Freya asked.
"Martha's. Said she left it behind so she could contact the Doctor. It's how we were told to come here," Donna explained.
On the screen, the Doctor was still going on.
"Big mistake, though, showing it to me," the Doctor said.
"But who do we phone?" Donna protested, showing the phone to Freya. Freya flipped it open, quickly going through the contacts.
Nothing useful.
And it wasn't like the Doctor carried around a mobile.
But Ianto did.
"Because I've got remote control," the Doctor told the Sontaran.
"Cease transmission!" the Sontaran shouted and the screen dissolved.
"He's making them move us. The TARDIS is being moved somewhere, supposedly where the Doctor can't 'summon' it," Freya said, rolling her eyes.
"Can he? Can he summon us?" Donna wanted to know.
"Oh, sure, but it takes a lot of work," Freya said.
The TARDIS was jerked about for a few minutes, and then rolled smoothly along.
"Now we wait til it stops. I'm certain we'll get more information then," Freya said, settling down on a seat by the console.
Donna was still staring at the phone.
"Donna?" Freya asked softly.
"I'm going to phone my family," Donna said.
"Go ahead. Talk to them. If I had a family left worth calling, I'd call them too," Freya reassured her.
Freya turned away, allowing Donna to talk with her family in peace. That was what she needed at the moment. She needed to talk with those she loved. Because Donna was worried. Donna hadn't really had an experience like this yet, one where she was separated from the Doctor. She was always at the Doctor's side, throughout it all.
And Freya would be the first to admit she wasn't an adequate substitution at making someone feel safe in an unknown situation.
Donna hung up and made her way glumly over to Freya.
"What do we do now?" she asked, her voice small. The TARDIS jerked, as if it was being moved.
"Now, you and me are going to do a bit of research. Now, I'm not the best at figuring out how to use the TARDIS, but she likes me better than the Doctor. And you're the best temp out there. So between the two of us, we can figure something out," Freya told Donna, giving her a lopsided grin.
"But what good will it do? We're trapped here," Donna complained.
"Honestly, no, we're not. I could probably take off if I needed to, but they could always try and find us, and pull us back. Right now, the Doctor needs us right here for whatever hare-brained scheme he's cooked up. So you and me will remain right here," Freya told her, pulling the monitor screen around to a keyboard.
"What should we research?" Donna asked, moving a bit closer.
"First of all, the Doctor was right. If these guys are an alien species who care specifically about war and the glory of battle, they shouldn't be using poison. Poison's a woman's weapon of choice. Not a warrior's. Which begs the question. What does this poisonous gas actually do?" Freya typed in a description of the gas and ATMOS and hit enter. The TARDIS hummed in her mind, flicking through numerous entries before pulling up a composition of the gas on Earth at the present moment.
"Well, it doesn't seem to be killing people quickly. It's like smog, or that sort of thing, yeah?" Donna asked.
"That's what I'd wager," Freya agreed.
"What's the…composition…of these guys' home planets?" Donna asked.
"The atmosphere? I don't know. Can you compare them?" Aurelie asked the TARDIS. The screen split, one side remaining up with Earth's current composition while the other pulled up an unknown planet to Freya.
The results were similar but not quite the same.
"It looks like you're on the right track, Donna. But it's not quite perfect," Freya mused, staring at it.
"What's the missing elements? Those. Right there. What do those gases do? How do they affect Sonterans?" Donna asked.
"Sontarans," Freya corrected, watching the TARDIS screen pull up more results.
And Freya frowned.
"It looks like it's some sort of basic….food? Clones. Clone feed. It's what they need to produce clones," Freya realized. The TARDIS pulled another planet's atmosphere readings up, matching them completely to Earth's.
"Sontaran breeding planet?" Donna asked, scrunching up her nose.
"What's the status of that planet? Why aren't they using it?" Freya questioned.
Status: Lost
The words flashed across the screen.
"Lost?" Donna scoffed.
"We've heard of other planets being lost recently," Freya realized.
"Oh yeah! The Adipose breeding planet. Wasn't it lost too?" Donna remembered.
"Why would someone want a sontaran and adipose breeding planet? Those are a weird combination, if you ask me," Freya mused.
"I'd say so, mate," Donna agreed, laughing lightly at the thought.
And the phone in Donna's hand started to ring. She answered it rapidly, pulling the mobile to her ear.
"What's happening? Where are you?" Donna asked frantically. She was silent for a moment before frowning.
"What's that?" she asked.
And her frown grew.
"What's wrong?" Freya asked.
"He just said we were his secret weapon," Donna complained.
"Give me the phone," Freya demanded. Donna dutifully handed it over to her.
"How are we your secret weapon?" Freya asked.
"Hello honey. Nice to hear from you too," the Doctor said sarcastically.
"Now's not the time. That gas? They're trying to turn Earth into their new breeding ground. They lost their planet, sort of like the Adipose lost their breeding planet," Freya explained.
"What? How'd you figure that?" the Doctor asked. She could practically hear the frown in his voice.
"Donna and I did some thinking and research using the TARDIS. It's fascinating what five minutes of thought and access to a TARDIS can give you," Freya told him, winking at Donna.
"Now, they moved us. I'm assuming you're the reason. What are you needing us to do on the ship?" Freya asked, changing the subject quickly.
"I need the two of you to go outside the TARDIS. Onto the ship," the Doctor said.
"What for?" Freya asked.
"The Sontarans are inside the factory, which means they've got a teleport link with the ship, but they'll have deadlocked it. I need you to reopen the link," the Doctor explained.
"Hope you can walk us through how to do that," Freya warned him.
"Of course I can," the Doctor protested. Freya covered the phone, nodding to Donna.
"We're going to need to go out there and do something for the Doctor. Peek out the door real quick?" Freya asked. Donna set her a terrified look but nodded, carefully cracking the door.
"There's a sonteran….Sontaran…out there," Donna whispered, closing the door quickly.
"Did he see you?" Freya asked. Donna shook her head.
"No, he's got his back to me," Donna explained.
"Good. Good. Now. Weakness? What's their weakness, Doctor?" Freya asked into the phone.
"Right. Tell Donna, on the back of the sontauran's neck, on his collar there's a sort of plug, like a hole. The Probic vent. One blow to the Probic vent knocks 'em out," the Doctor told her.
"Why do I need to tell Donna? I can whack them just as well as she can," Freya said as she moved towards the console, grabbing the mallet the Doctor always whacked the TARDIS with.
The TARDIS herself surely would appreciate the gesture. If Freya had her way, the mallet would never return to the TARDIS.
Maybe she could throw it in the same supernova the Doctor had thrown the manual in.
"What'd he say? What are we going to do?" Donna asked anxiously.
"We're gonna go out there and hit them. They have a hole in the back of their neck – it's their weak spot. One good whack and he'll go down," Freya said, a grin flitting across her face.
"That's it?" Donna asked slowly.
"That's it. Wanna do the honors?" Freya asked, offering her the mallet. Donna looked as if that were the last thing she wanted, but she hesitantly took the mallet. Freya opened the door and stuck her head out.
The Sontaran was still there, still facing away.
"Freya? Are you still there? Have you done it yet?" the Doctor asked her.
"Shush. Busy," Freya murmured, motioning for Donna to come out of the TARDIS. The two of them crept forward before Donna pulled her arm back and slammed the mallet into the back of the Sontaran's head. It crumpled quickly.
"Back of the neck," Donna said with a breathless laugh.
"Nailed it," Freya agreed, "Now what?" she asked the Doctor.
"Now then, you got to find the external junction feed to the teleport," the Doctor ordered.
"In English?" Freya asked.
"Look for a circular panel on the wall," the Doctor simplified.
"Circular panel on wall. See it?" Freya asked Donna.
"Big symbol on the front, like a, like a letter T, with a horizontal line through it? Or, or, two Fs back to back," the Doctor finally managed to get his words out.
"What do we need it for? There's a door," Donna said.
"Should be a switch by the side," the Doctor said, hearing Donna's words. Freya nodded, noticing the oddly shaped scanner.
Like for a handprint. Only for a Sontaran.
"Think we've found it. Work like a hand scanner? Can we use our hand or do we need to drag the Sontaran over and use his hand?" Freya asked.
"Your hand should do. Go ahead and open the door," the Doctor ordered.
"But it's Sontaran shaped. You need three fingers," Donna murmured, staring at it.
"Or you just pretend you have three fingers," Freya told her, mimicking the hand gesture from star trek. Donna snickered at her but watched as Freya pressed her hand to the panel, opening the door with ease.
The two hurried through, eyes peeled.
"We're through," Freya said.
"Good, great! Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered.
"Laying it on a bit thick there," Freya said drily.
"Now go find the…T with a line through it," the Doctor said, "Keep the line open though."
"Right," Freya said, nodding. She turned to Donna.
"Keep an eye out for something that looks like a T with a line through it," Freya ordered the redhead.
"Duck!" Donna interjected, pulling her to the side as a group of Sontarans marched by. Freya slid the phone into her pocket, not bothering to end the call.
Donna was gripping her hand tightly.
"It's okay," Freya murmured as the Sontarans disappeared through the doors, which slid shut behind them.
"This…this is terrifying," Donna breathed.
"And just a bit exciting, yeah?" Freya asked, grinning. Donna grinned.
"Yeah," she agreed, her voice slightly breathless.
"Now come on. I wager we have about ten minutes to find this thing the Doctor needs before he starts bothering us again."
It took about five minutes.
Five minutes and three close encounters.
And two knocked out sontarans.
"This it?" Donna asked. Freya examined the thing and nodded, pulling out the mobile. The Doctor had long since hung up. Freya quickly redialed, waiting as she glanced around impatiently.
"Blimey! I'm busy. Have you got it?" the Doctor asked.
"Yeah. Hurry up," Freya ordered. Donna was watching over their shoulders as Freya positioned the phone between her shoulder and ear.
"Take off the covering. All the blue switches inside – flick them up like a fuse box, and that should get the teleport working," the Doctor ordered. Freya pulled the cover off as Donna inhaled sharply.
"They've found us," Donna warned, her voice high. Freya frantically flipped the switches up, spinning around to face the sontarans with Donna.
"Blue switches are done, but they've found us," Freya warned, slipping her hand into Donna's and giving it a tight squeeze as the Doctor shouted a loud 'now' on the phone.
There was a sudden jarring motion as Freya felt herself being pulled apart, then back together. And they were in front of the Doctor.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" Donna asked, her hand still shaking slightly in Freya's before she pulled it back, straightening her shirt out nervously before she threw herself at the Doctor, hugging him tightly. Ianto gave Freya a smile before pulling her into his own hug.
"Hold on, hold on! Get off me, get off me! Got to bring the TARDIS down, then hug the wife. No. Hug the wife, then bring down the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked, shooting Freya a confused look.
"Get our TARDIS back before she gets angry," Freya ordered. The Doctor nodded, fiddling with his sonic screwdriver and nodding.
"There. She's back. Now," the Doctor said before stepping forward and sweeping Freya into a bone-crushing hug.
"I don't plan on sending you to an enemy ship again anytime soon," the Doctor murmured, his fingers carding through her hair.
"I didn't think you sent us there in the first place," Freya said, feeling slightly amused. The Doctor pulled back, facing her, a serious expression on his face.
"I'm not joking. I don't like it. I really don't," he told her before sighing and breaking free from her. Freya shot a confused look at Ianto, who could only shrug.
Martha looked worse for wear, though. She looked like she'd been having a rough time.
The Doctor bounced away from them, shooting a look over his shoulder.
"Right, now. Martha, you coming?" he asked.
"What about this nuclear launch thing?" Martha asked.
"Nuclear what?" Donna barked out in disbelief. The Doctor waved her off.
"Just keep pressing N. We want to keep those missiles on the ground," the Doctor said, a grin still on his face.
"I'd say so," Donna muttered under her breath before freezing. Freya followed Donna's line of vision, only to stop in her place as well.
There were two Marthas. Freya's eyes darted between the two. One of them was huddled on the floor, looking incredibly pathetic.
"There's two of them," Donna said faintly.
"Yeah, long story. Here we go! The old team, back together Well, the new team," the Doctor said with a grin, motioning for them to join him in a weird circular thing. Freya hesitantly followed the others inside.
"We're not going back on that ship!" Donna said in disbelief. The Doctor shook his head.
"No, no, no. No! I needed to get that teleport working so that we could get to," the Doctor's words were cut off as the world around them shimmered and they were in a new place.
But still in the circle thing?
"Here. The Rattigan Acadamy, owned by," the Doctor nodded his head to a young boy who had a gun pointed at them.
"I missed a lot, didn't I?" Freya murmured to Ianto.
"Definitely," Ianto agreed.
"Don't tell anyone what I did. It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they," the boy was cut off when the Doctor yanked the gun from his hands and threw it to the side.
"I swear, if I see one more gun," the Doctor complained, stepping outside of the portal to move after the boy.
Freya tentatively followed him out of the portal thing, as did the others. The Doctor them ran into the next room, into a lab or sorts. He started fiddling with some device that was lying on a table.
"Do I even want to know what you're building?" Freya asked him, moving slightly to his side.
"Something to blow them up. If we need to. That's why they were using Martha to stop the missile launches. The atmosphere is highly volatile," the Doctor explained.
"You mean we could set the whole atmosphere on fire?" Martha asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?" the Doctor asked him.
"They promised me a new world," Rattigan said bitterly.
"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this. An atmospheric converter," the Doctor said, holding up something.
He grabbed it and ran outside, the others following on his footsteps.
Donna stopped as soon as she took sight of the world around them.
"That's London. You can't even see it. My family's in there," Donna said in horror.
"If I can just get this on the right setting," the Doctor murmured, ignoring them.
"It'll be fine," Freya reassured Donna, hoping she wouldn't come out as a liar.
"Doctor, hold on. You said the atmosphere would ignite," Martha said, eyes widening.
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" the Doctor asked with a manic grin before pushing a button, sending what looked like a fireball into the sky.
A fireball that then lit the whole sky on fire.
"He's a genius," Rattigan breathed.
"Just brilliant," Martha agreed as the Doctor frowned, scooping up the equipment.
"Now we're in trouble," he said gleefully, running back into the academy. They quickly followed him inside to the room with the portal in it. He carried the atmospheric converter into the portal with him before turning around.
"Rigth. So Donna, thank you for everything. Martha, you too. Oh, so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life. Ianto, you've not been half bad. Freya…" he drifted off, just staring at her.
"You're saying goodbye," Donna realized. The Doctor nodded, eyes never leaving Freya.
"Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so…" the Doctor drifted off.
"You're going to ignite them," Martha realized.
"You'll kill yourself," Donna protested.
"Too quick for regeneration," Freya realized. The Doctor nodded solemnly, still staring at her.
"Just send that thing up on its own. I don't know. Put it on a delay," Martha ordered.
"I can't," the Doctor said with a sigh.
"Why not?" Donna demanded.
"I've got to give them a chance. I'm sorry, Freya," he said before teleporting out.
Freya could only stare blankly at the gate.
And then Rattigan ran into the portal, messing with the wires.
"What are you doing?" Martha demanded.
"Something clever," Rattigan said, standing up. And he teleported away.
And the Doctor fell in front of them instead, breathless.
They were silent as they made their way back to the TARDIS and back to Donna's house. Donna talked with her family as James made his way into the TARDIS, joining Ianto, Martha, Freya, and the Doctor.
The Doctor and James were eyeing each other, as they usually tended to do when in the same place. Ianto seemed to be enjoying watching them, while Freya was grateful that Martha seemed much kinder to her at this point, showing off the ring and talking about her fiancé.
When Donna opened the door, everyone all but pounced on her.
"How were they?" Martha asked.
"Oh, same old stuff. They're fine. So, you going to come with us? We're not exactly short of space," Donna offered. Martha let out a sigh.
"Oh, I have missed all this, but, you know, I'm good here. Back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides, someone needs me. Never mind the universe, I've got a great big world of my own now," Martha said, making to move towards the door.
Just as the door slammed shut and the TARDIS took off on its own volition, violently throwing everyone around.
"What?" the Doctor exclaimed, gripping onto the bars for dear life.
"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha shrieked.
"What's going on?" Ianto shouted.
"The TARIDS! She's taking off on her own," Freya shouted back as she gripped the railings tightly.
"I didn't touch anything! We're in flight, and it's not me!" the Doctor exclaimed as James slammed into him, the two of them crashing into a rail.
"Where are we going?" Donna shouted.
"I don't know! It's out of control," the Doctor responded.
"Doctor, listen to me. Take me home. Take me home right now!" Martha ordered.
"He can't! The TARDIS is doing this!" Freya shouted back.